Thanks to Anthony Jackson of the Munlochy GM Vigil for part 3 of the 'GM in the UK' REVIEW OF THE YEAR, which is about Scotland.

QUOTES:

" 'The Highland Council was propelled into the GM debate by the crop trials on the Black Isle. But the more we have engaged with the issue and the more we have learned about GM, the more areas of concern we have uncovered.... We are inviting our neighbours in the Highlands and Islands to join with us in creating a GM-free zone that covers the whole of the Highlands and Islands' " - Richard Durham, the chairman of Highland's land and environment select committee

"the movement for GM-free zones in Scotland is steadily increasing with virtually the entire North of Scotland maintaining and extending this position during 2004."

"The Scottish Parliament came within a vote of blocking GM crop cultivation across the whole of the UK."

" 'I believe that almost all members of the Parliament are sceptical about GM crops. I am sceptical about GM crops.' " - Jack McConnell, Scotland's First Minister and head of the Scottish Executive

For parts 1 & 2 of 'GM in the UK', covering England and Wales, see:
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4770
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Scotland 2004 - REVIEW OF THE YEAR
By Anthony Jackson, Munlochy GM Vigil
http://munlochygmvigil.org.uk
[email protected]
January 2005

In Scotland the election in May 2003 produced the following number of seats in the Scottish Parliament: Labour 50 (-6), Liberal-Democrats 17 (+0), Scottish National Party 27 (-8), Conservative 18 (+0), Green Party 7 (+6), Scottish Socialist Party 6 (+5), Independents 4 (+3).

There were obvious benefits for the Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party but also for an independent caucus within the Scottish Parliament and an extremely knife edge position for the Scottish Executive.

This difficulty was shown during 2004 (see the Appendix below) when the Scottish Parliament debated the commercialisation of GM crops in the spring and came within a single vote of blocking GM crop cultivation across the whole of the UK.

By the autumn, the Scottish Executive was beginning to struggle with the issue of coexistence and liability during its own version of a pre-consultation consultation exercise.

Here they realised that sticking to the UK line of 0.9% thresholds for contamination would run into considerable political difficulties.

When the Scottish Executive civil servants were given the quote about liability from Jack McConnell, Scotland's First Minister and head of the Executive, they had to scurry off and check it out for themselves. Had he really said it? What was the context? The lifeline of their very jobs was at stake.

"...Scots are uneasy about GM crops and there is little support for their early commercialisation, so we will take action to protect the interests of Scottish consumers and to ensure consumer choice.

We believe that a statutory co-existence measure should exist to prevent cross-contamination. Compensation that is funded by the GM industry will be provided for any cross-contamination that occurs in Scotland. In areas where GM maize could be grown, we wish to establish GM-free zones...

I believe that almost all members of the Parliament are sceptical about GM crops. I am sceptical about GM crops.

That scepticism is why we insisted on putting in place the regime that I described, why we take the precautionary approach and why we ensured that the two crops that showed harm to the environment were rejected.

We will continue to take that sceptical stance not only in our debates and decisions in Scotland, but in our discussions at the UK level, in which we will push that case, and at the European level..."
(Jack McConnell, First Minister, in reply to questions in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, 11th March 2004 - in the Official Report, columns 6568-6589, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/plenary/or-04/sor0311-02.htm )

The Lib-Lab pact in Scotland with all its deep fault-lines will continue to feel the pinch in the future and require campaigning efforts to keep the pressure up (backsliding to the previous cosy relationship with Blair is simply not an option).

Meanwhile, the movement for GM-free zones in Scotland is steadily increasing with virtually the entire North of Scotland maintaining and extending this position during 2004.

This is by no means the time to become complacent. There is still much to do in the UK and Europe. Executive branches of government and the industry networks have not given up. Corporate liability is crucial and the issue of imported animal feed has to be seriously addressed, especially with over half of the world’s soya now GM.

Yet even more importantly, as we can begin now to politically clean up on home ground, the need to support and open up the encouraging campaign successes in the USA is incumbent on all of us. The fight must be taken to the heartland.
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Appendix: media pieces

GM protesters win three-year court battle - Highland News (Scotland), 14/10/2004
Four GM crop protesters convicted of aggravated trespass for their part in a protest at Munlochy on the Black Isle in August 2001 won their appeal at the High Court in Edinburgh
.. (and) successfully claimed
.. that Sheriff Alexander Pollock, who convicted them, had erred by rejecting a submission that the Crown had failed to identify in court the field in which the GM crop was planted, and in which the offences were alleged to have taken place. The field had been identified by an Ordnance Survey map grid reference, but no map had been produced during their trial. The defendants had also produced as grounds for appeal their claims that no trespass was involved; that the sowing of the GM crop was being carried out unlawfully, and that an organic farmer had the right to enjoy his possessions without undue interference under the European Human Rights Act - although these points were not proceeded with.
http://www.highlandnews.co.uk/article.tvt?_ticket=9NTHLXD4YGSGX4SHJNNADY7BZKLAFUUGUVSFJTOHCQTN9LLDNBATTRRIVQMAAQ48X7KACK5FURYFHONHFMTEGNKACN4FURXOHONGDMTEDWZ2X5K94E4B&_scope=Flow/Highland News/News&id=20682&ARTICLECAT=News
...
Western Isles ready to join as Highland GM-free zone grows - The Scotsman, 19th June 2004
WESTERN Isles councillors are set to join colleagues in Highland and Moray and declare their area a GM-free zone. Members of the islands' environmental services committee have recommended that the authority takes the action in line with Highland Council's decision in April to join a European network of regions free from genetically-modified produce - the first area in Scotland or England to do so. Angus Nicolson, the committee chairman, said: "We fully support the Highland Council stance and are happy to work with them in ensuring that Highlands and Islands become GM-free." Richard Durham, the chairman of Highland's land and environment select committee, who addressed the island council's committee in Stornoway, said: "Following on from the similar decision by Moray Council last month, we now have a significant GM-free region in the Highlands and Islands.....Cullen to Carloway, Dunnet to Duror - that's a huge area and a great achievement, but Highland Council will continue to canvass support for its GM-free stance from the other councils in the Highlands and Islands area."


. Mr Durham added: "The Highland Council was propelled into the GM debate by the crop trials on the Black Isle. But the more we have engaged with the issue and the more we have learned about GM, the more areas of concern we have uncovered.....We are inviting our neighbours in the Highlands and Islands to join with us in creating a GM-free zone that covers